The happy family after their outdoor wedding ceremony at Arbor Day Farm.

It’s true! And on July 29, 2011, at 6:00pm, we had our first-ever wedding in the larger Nature Explore Classroom here at Arbor Day Farm. The happy couple is Trevor and Toni Dierkhising of Omaha, Nebraska, shown here with their sons Tyler and Jacob.

It was a lovely (warm!) summer evening, and we loved the bride’s choice of sunflowers, daisies, and wildflowers for her bouquet. They planned a beautiful ceremony set against a beautiful background of nature.

From all of us here at Arbor Day Farm, our sincere congratulations to the Dierkhising Family and may your marriage be protected by a sheltering tree.

Granted, there’s no shortage of beautiful landscapes and interesting things to photograph across these 260 acres in any season. But this sunny patch along the Discovery Ride path is simply magnificent.

The sunflowers are new this year, courtesy of Arbor Day Farm’s landscaping department. Visitors who climb aboard the Discovery Ride — the guided tram-like ride that winds over the river and through the woods — journey right through the middle of the patch, where they can snap their own photos of these symbols of summer.

You can view a few more photos of Arbor Day Farm’s sunflower patch here, but you really owe it to yourself to come see it in person. Don’t forget your camera!

Amy Stouffer is a marketing coordinator at Lied Lodge and Arbor Day Farm in Nebraska City, where free-range creativity is encouraged. See how you can be part of the Arbor Day team, too.